PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 4, 2009) – Senior Mike Dugan (Summit, N.J.) recorded a season-high four points on two goals and two assists, but the Rutgers men's lacrosse team dropped a 12-9 decision to No. 16 Loyola Saturday afternoon at Yurcak Field.

Loyola (6-4, 3-1) used three consecutive scores to begin the second half to break open what was a closely contested first half. Rutgers (4-7, 2-2) drops to fourth place in the ECAC standings.

Junior Gerhard Buehning (Essex Fells, N.J.) had a season-high three points on two goals and an assist and junior goalkeeper Billy Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) recorded 11 saves, including 10 in the second half.

"I thought we made some fundamental mistakes today," said head coach Jim Stagnitta. "Simple things like not moving to the ball and dropping the ball hurt us. When we made those mistakes that led to turnovers, they were able to turn around and bring them right back at us. We had some good looks and we took advantage of them, but we needed to generate more shots."

Loyola sprinted out to an early 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals from Mike Sawyer and Stephen Murray. Rutgers would match the Greyhounds early output with consecutive scores of its own from Dugan and senior Jeff Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y.). The Greyhounds then went on a 3-0 run spanning the first and second quarter to take a 5-2 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, RU pulled to within a score as Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and Mike Diehl (Flemington, N.J.) scored back-to-back goals in a two-minute span. Loyola quickly pushed its lead back to three as Shane Koppens and Sawyer each netted goals. The Scarlet Knights would gain some momentum going into the intermission as Dugan scored his second goal to cut the Loyola advantage to 7-5 with 1:12 remaining in the half.

Loyola started the third quarter strong with three straight goals to take their largest lead of the day at 10-5. The squads would trade the next four goals and the Greyhounds held a 12-7 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Rutgers would make one last push to get back into the game as Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.) and Buehning each tallied goals, but the Scarlet Knights would get no closer than three the rest of the game.

Rutgers will step out of conference next Saturday, traveling to No. 2 Syracuse on April 11. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.

* * * *

New Brunswick, N.J. - Freshman Mike Sawyer scored three of his career-high four goals in the first half while attackmen Shane Koppens and Collin Finnerty scored two apiece to lead No. 15/16 Loyola to a 12-9 win over homestanding Rutgers on Saturday afternoon at Yurcak Field in ECAC play.

Heading into the weekend, Loyola Head Coach Charley Toomey emphasized the game's importance, as it began a stretch of four consecutive conference decisions in April for the Greyhounds.

Loyola (6-4 overall, 3-1 ECAC) responded adequately to grind out the win despite windy conditions. Much in part came from success at the face-off, with Loyola going 18-for-24 at the X. Junior John Schiavone led the way at 16-of-19, one win short of his career-high 17 which he set earlier in the season against St. John's.

The victory leaps Loyola over the Scarlet Knights (4-7 overall, 2-2 ECAC ) into sole possession of second-place in the ECAC with a road date at Georgetown next week on deck.

"We went out and did what we were supposed to do today," Toomey said, "Wins on the road in conference play are always tough to come by, and I'm proud of our kid's efforts."

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2009-04-04